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In straw polls, smart money's on Ron Paul

'Just think if we had influence in the media,' said Ron Paul. |
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His supporters have reason to hope their efforts will pay off: Their hero says he is listening.

“I’m thinking about running in 2012. I think everybody has to be aware I’m thinking about it,” Paul said. “We’ll see what happens at CPAC. If the enthusiasm started to wane, and I came in fifth at CPAC then maybe the young people aren’t there.”

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Those young people form the core of Paul’s support — he’s currently trying to schedule a visit to a university in Iowa because he likes meeting them so much — and they congregate online. Brown and Yates are both members of the Liberty Forest Ron Paul Forums, a website that’s independent of Paul’s own Campaign for Liberty. They were two of more than 10 forum members who responded to a POLITICO query within an hour of its posting on the site.

They use those active message boards — more than 100 people are usually viewing the forum at any given time, and new messages appear every few minutes — to talk about Paul’s politics and, above all, to organize for straw polls. There’s a separate board just for CPAC. Can’t go yourself and want to chip in for someone else? There’s a link for that. And there’s already a subforum devoted to sending people to Iowa’s August straw poll in Ames.

Unlike many other top tier potential presidential candidates, Paul doesn’t pay for his supporters’ tickets to events like CPAC. He didn’t have a collection of paid staffers rounding up votes last year, and he won’t this year, either.

“I don’t know if I will win the poll. It would be nice if I could, but quite frankly, I’m always surprised how well I do. Last year, it was pretty much a shock to me,” Paul said.

Still, the difference between Paul supporters and average conservative conference attendees is always obvious to the organizers of various conservative events.

“His supporters went to great lengths to get there specifically to vote for him in the straw poll,” said one conservative who was closely involved with putting on last year’s Southern Republican Leadership Conference straw poll in New Orleans. “Right before he spoke, a large number of activists showed up to hear him speak and specifically to vote for him in the straw poll.”

That makes them much different from traditional attendees, who are usually drawn to a broad list of popular conservative politicians and come to hear from all of them.

“[Paul supporters] just had a different attitude than the average person who just came to have a good time and to hear lots of speakers,” the SRLC organizer said.

Paul’s supporters already are getting ready to head back to New Orleans in June for the next RLC poll — they’re still smarting over the 1-vote deficit that left them in second place last year. And if they do persuade their guy to run again this time around, they’re prepared to show up in early states to do it all over again.

Their organizing efforts would be particularly useful in states that hold caucuses rather than primaries — and it helps explain Paul’s early focus on Iowa, where he’ll speak at the socially conservative Family Leader presidential series in March.

“[My supporters’] skills in energizing people … lends them to going into these states that have caucuses,” Paul said. “They are more organized, and they’re more energized, and the organization lends itself to it.”

Readers' Comments (296)

His followers are an embarrassment to the conservative movement. There are FAR too many conspiracy nuts that he drags around like a dirty, smelly blanket. I'll get back to you after I fuel up my black helicopter and chase away that CIA plane that's spraying a chem trail over my neighborhood!

Let's be serious, he will never be the Republican nominee for president. I am very interested in seeing more of Trump's campaign. At least he is a capitalist, which is more than I can say for the Boy Blunder we have in there now.

HE MAY WELL BE OUR ONLY HOPE. HE NEEDS SECURITY GUARDS 24/7. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE THREAT HE IS TO MILITARY CONTRACTORS, CONSTUCTION AND BUILDING CONTRACTORS, BIG AGRICULTURAL COMPANIES, FOREIGN NATIONS KNOWING THEIR FOREIGN AIDE IS GONE, THE POVERTY INDUSTRY AND THE MILLIONARIES WHO PROFIT FROM THEM, HUGE TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION WHO BASICALLY GOVERN THE USA THROUGH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND THE UNITED NATIONS…..AND ON AND ON……………….

The Mexican Drug Cartels will take a major hit if Paul were to be elected. He will work to legalize drugs. And finally, I see his point. Like in Prohibition...take the massive money out of it.............and much of the crime..ends..or goes other places....

If people are committed to destroying themselves..or if they have to use a intoxicating substance to have a good time....then let it be legal. The DEA is the most failure in the history of the world..and if you don't believe me...go to any major inner city and see what Drugs...have done to Black Kids...who never had a chance to grow up and maybe get a little sense.

Take the local drug dealer, with his bling, and his black Cadillac Escalade.....off of the streets..by destroying his source of money......and BLACK KIDS DON'T SEE HIM AS THE MOST PROPEROUS GUY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD...with the best looking girls hanging around him.........The POISON never enters their bodies...

If it does.........they see a doctor. Who gives it to them. And a place to shoot up. And if they want to die.....let them. We cannot continue sacrificing generations of black kids.......for people who are psychologically adapted to become addicted. KEEPING it away from them................if it is illegal..will never work. There is too much money in it. Just like Illegal Immigration. Too much money in it. Ditto Open Borders. Ditto Free Trade. Ditto BBF to China.

Ron Paul....................opposes all of it. He is not in it for the money.....and he has proved that for the decades that he has been in congress.

He is the best hope we have.......................now be prepared to get out and support him. Put up signs, make those calls, drag your relatives to the polls..talk to some black ministers who are sick of the death and dying of young black people....and who knows...............we might take the Hill.

If RP is a threat to "construction and building contractors" or military contractors, why in God's name would any conservative vote for him?! As for "big agriculture" the ONLY problem I have wit them is when they crawl in bed with the government, other than that they are FANTASTIC! Ag is like any other business, if they compete freely and openly without carving out special legislative advantages, they help everyone! As long as "huge transnationals" stay out of the business of buying American pols, why do you object to them?

It seems that RP's followers can't even be trusted to champion free markets. Geez.

It seems that RP's followers can't even be trusted to champion free markets.

Ron Paul supporters are libertarian devotees. They believe in really open free markets (and borders). That's where I disagree with them. I think more like Trump does.

With the ChiComs manipulating their currency, it puts us at a distinct disadvantage. A little protectionism is called for. Unfortunately, I think it may be too late to right this ship. But if Trump will run, I'll definitely give him a fair shake.

Ron Paul has the aura of being a superficial nut cake. Some of his ideas are mainstream but many are not and the following that he has is down right scary. If the GOP throws another of this ilk our way as our candidate then Barack will win his second term hands down...many of us will again stay home and sit on our hands rather than be given the choice between a loose cannon relic like Ron Paul and a wild-eyed marxist like Barack Obama. Ron Paul will only be a cause for more job losses and angst of Washington's disconnect....and just what industry does he have expertise in? He has spent too many years strolling the halls of DC and watching Ivy slowly growing up his ivory tower's walls and no time at all in real time America.

Oh, for sure! What this country needs is another MBA Admin.! Bush and Cheney did SUCH a MAGNIFICENT job on the country!

"Capitalists" (what you mean, actually, is "businessman") are depraved, esp. at that level. It's about the bottom line, even at the expense of people. In fact, a person with an entrenched business mentality is probably the WORST kind of person to have in a governing position, as was shown by Bush and Cheney.